Syllabus - Fall 2024
Setup
Constructing Tables
General Information
Weekly, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
From 4:00 - 5:15 PM in Allwine Hall, Room 314
This course is open to undergraduate students from various disciplines interested in the intersection of environmental science and public health. It is particularly relevant for those pursuing careers in environmental health, public health, policy, sustainability, and related fields.
Human Health and the Environment comprehensively explores the intricate and critical relationship between the environment and human well-being. As the world faces ever-growing environmental challenges, understanding how our environment influences human health is essential for informed decision-making and sustainable living.
You will participate in this course using the UNO Canvas learning management platform. Once on the platform, you can learn how to use Canvas effectively by clicking the “Help” link on the top right of the course page on Canvas.
Instructor
Please call me: Dr. Rich or Professor Rich (she/her)
Contact: aliciarich@unomaha.edu
Office: Allwine Hall Room 413
Office Hours: By appointment on W/R from 10-12
Please do not use Canvas messages to contact me. I will not monitor those.
I will return your emails within 48 business hours, but I may not check my email during evenings or weekends. If you are still waiting for a response after three business days, please reach out again.
If you would like to schedule an in-person meeting, please request this at least 48 hours in advance. I do not schedule student meetings outside regular workday hours (M-F, 9-5), so please do not ask me to meet with you in the evenings or on weekends.
Ask me about: Primates, Field Research, Zoos, Molecular Biology, Social Justice, Anthropology, Trail Running, Swimming
Detailed Information
Our Goals & Direction
| Learning Objectives | ||
| Students will be able to... | Assessed through | |
|---|---|---|
| Know | ||
| Recognize historic and contemporary phenomena created by connections between human health and the environment. | Quizzes | |
| Comprehend | ||
| Identify and summarize more than one complex pathway mediated by social and biological variables which connects human health to the environment. | Exams | |
| Evaluate | ||
| Compose and critique practical solutions that will benefit the health of humans and their environment. | Poster | |
Course Materials
| Summary of Required Course Materials | ||
| Resources | How to access or get help... | |
|---|---|---|
 |
Spotify | Alternative links available in schedule below |
 |
Canvas | You must review Canvas regularly. For technical support, please use Canvas Student Support.1 |
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Waterbear | Waterbear is a free streaming service with Environmental and Sustainability documentaries. We may watch some videos here during class, or I may assign others.2 |
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Canva | Sometimes I incorporate Canva collaboration tools in the classroom.3 |
| 1 There is live chat-based support for students available online, or you may call the hotline +1-844-691-2290 instead. | ||
| 2 Create a free account with your email to access. | ||
| 3 You can create a free account now, and if you use your university affiliation, you can request a free premium subscription. | ||
Assigned Background
The learning objectives for this course lend well to engagement with more diverse media sources and types than primary literature and textbooks, so most of your background content will come from podcasts. I may also assign some articles and online videos, and we will spend several of our class meetings watching and discussing documentary films.
Podcasts
I compiled most of the assigned podcasts for this semester in a single spotify playlist (linked here and embedded below). At least one of our podcasts was not available on spotify, so you will have to follow the direct link to listen on the NPR website.
The course schedule below contains direct links to every assigned podcast. Many of those sites also contain written transcripts (an alternative if you prefer reading to listening for information processing). They also often include links to additional relevant sources for follow-up. While none of these resources are required, I encourage you to make use of them if a subject strikes you as particularly interesting.
I have grouped the assigned podcasts by our general topics for the semester. Some of these topics will span multiple weeks, and so you should work ahead at listening when you are able, and then come to the first day of class for that topic having reviewed all of the relevant podcasts. I will communicate routinely during class to let you know when we are about to move from one topic to another to help you keep pace with our progress as a class. Some podcasts are only ten minutes long, while others are up to two-hours in length. To help you manage your time and plan around this, I also included the total time for each set of listening assignments in the schedule.
Videos and Films
Some of the films that we watch in class are only available via purchase or a paid streaming subscription. I cannot provide free access to those if you miss class without a registered excuse, so you will have to find your own access to them if you do not attend. I will only assign videos for you to review at home if they are freely and openly available.
Because this class focuses on intersections between society and biology, we may watch films containing sensitive or otherwise triggering material. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you are concerned that a film or other material will subject you to some form of identity- or experience-based emotional or psychological distress. I will be happy to work out an alternative plan that avoids this and maximizes your learning.
| Course Schedule | ||
| Subject to change at any time1 | ||
| Date | Topic | Class Preparation2 |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 - Introduction | ||
| Tue, Aug 27 | Intro to the Class | Syllabus |
| Thu, Aug 29 | Overview of Concepts | |
| Week 2 - Climate | ||
| Tue, Sep 3 | Climate Change | 32M 30S How to Save a Planet: A Storm is Brewing. Is it Climate Change? |
| Thu, Sep 5 | Climate Justice | |
| Week 3 - Heat & Fire | ||
| Tue, Sep 10 | Heat Waves | 1H 20M 43S Agents of Change: Carlos Gould on wildfire smoke and our health America Adapts: Climate Change and Extreme Heat |
| Thu, Sep 12 | Fires | |
| Week 4 - Food | ||
| Tue, Sep 17 | Food & Climate Change | 1H 37M 35S TED Radio Hour: What we’ll eat on a warmer planet How to Save a Planet: Should I Give Up Beef? |
| Thu, Sep 19 | Monoculture & Industrial Agriculture | |
| Week 5 - Food | ||
| Tue, Sep 24 | Cattle & the Environment | |
| Thu, Sep 26 | Meat Alternatives & Health | |
| Week 6 - Urban Environments | ||
| Tue, Oct 1 | Housing Justice & Health | 2H 11M 25S Short Wave: From Cars to Leaf Blowers: Noise Pollution’s Toll on Human Health TED Radio Hour: A More Walkable World: How walking benefits our health, communities, and planet Agents of Change: Diana Hernández on housing and health. |
| Thu, Oct 3 | Urban Pests | |
| Week 7 - Urban Environments | ||
| Tue, Oct 8 | City Planning & Health | |
| Thu, Oct 10 | Noise Pollution | |
| Week 8 - Vectors & Pathogens | ||
| Tue, Oct 15 | Global Change & Vector Ecology | 1H 12M 55S Ologies: Disease Ecology (LYME/TICK-BORNE ILLNESSES) with Dr. Andrea Swei. |
| Thu, Oct 17 | Vector-borne Diseases | |
| Week 9 - Midterm Exam | ||
| Tue, Oct 22 | No Class | Study |
| Thu, Oct 24 | None | |
| Week 10 - Zoonoses & Viruses | ||
| Tue, Oct 29 | Zoonoses & Human-Animal Interactions | 1H 34M 31S Ologies: Virology (COVID-19) with Dr. Shannon Bennett + various ologists. NPR: Goats and Soda: How do pandemics begin? |
| Thu, Oct 31 | Historic Spillovers | |
| Week 11 - Zoonoses & Viruses | ||
| Tue, Nov 5 | VOTE | |
| Thu, Nov 7 | Predicting & Preparing for Pandemics | |
| Week 12 - Toxicology | ||
| Tue, Nov 12 | Environmental Endocrine Disruption | 1H 34M 24S Short Wave: What to know about the new EPA rule limiting ‘forever chemicals’ in tap water. Ologies: Environmental Toxicology (POISONS + TRAIN DERAILMENT) with Dr. Kimberly K. Garrett |
| Thu, Nov 14 | Persistant Organic Chemicals | |
| Week 13 - Toxicology | ||
| Tue, Nov 19 | Persistant Organic Chemicals | |
| Thu, Nov 21 | Flint Water Crisis | |
| Week 14 - No Class - Thanksgiving | ||
| Tue, Nov 26 | No Class | None |
| Thu, Nov 28 | No Class | |
| Week 15 - Wrap-Up | ||
| Tue, Dec 3 | Synthesizing Concepts | Project Summary |
| Thu, Dec 5 | Synthesizing Concepts | |
| Week 16 - Projects | ||
| Tue, Dec 10 | Synthesizing Concepts | Poster |
| Thu, Dec 12 | Synthesizing Concepts | |
| Tue, Dec 17 | 5:00 PM - Final Exam | |
| 1 You are responsible for in-class announcements and/or updates made on Canvas. Please keep your records organized. | ||
| 2 You should come to class on Tuesdays having already reviewed that week's materials. In most cases this will be a podcast or series of podcasts (medium indicated by icon and total time for each podcast also included). Podcast recordings with detailed information are linked in this table, but you can also find most recordings in a sorted Spotify playlist (see below). | ||
Expectations & Assessment
Attendance
Absences may only be truly excused if they have been registered through the Accessibility Services Center. Please do not provide me with any personal or medical details to explain your barriers to attendance or assignment completion. While I do care about accommodating these issues when they arise, I also care about your privacy and respect that office’s expertise in managing the conditions and complications that are outside of my purview. I do my best to integrate a reasonable and universal degree of flexibility into our schedule and assessment plan to accommodate some work/life balance while also ensuring equity and reasonable progress in your learning. I am happy to recieve requests and recommendations to help me update and improve this approach for everyone, but I will only create personalized accommodations by working directly with the ASC.
How to Earn that Grade
| Format | Points | Count | Drops1 | Total | % Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project2 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 17% |
| Quizzes3 | 3 | 16 | 3 | 39 | 33% |
| Exams4 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 60 | 50% |
| 1 Number (if any) of lowest scores that will automatically be dropped from your final grade | |||||
| 2 You will create a poster synthesizing and communicating key concepts and perspectives related to a class theme of your choice at the end of the semester | |||||
| 3 These are short quizzes given at the start of class to assess your preparation for the week’s topic. | |||||
| 4 You will take one Midterm exam and one Final exam. You will be allowed to use hard copy notes/materials for each, but not electronic resources. | |||||
Preparation Quizzes
These quizzes will only serve as an incentive to ensure widespread accountability for engaging with our discussions and keeping up with the assigned background material. I will ask 1-2 questions that require you to provide a surface-level reflection on some component of the assigned material in no more than 1-3 sentences.
Please arrive to each class on time, having completed the assigned background material for that week and brought a writing utencil. If you arrrive after a quiz is over, I will not interrupt the class to give you the quiz, and I will not let you take the quiz after recieving additional information that the others did not access before taking theirs.
| Quiz Rubric | |
| The assessment system will be broad, so each quiz will only recieve a 0, 1, 2, or 3 as an assessment of the student's basic preparation level for the class. | |
| Score | Standard Met by Response |
|---|---|
| 0 | Nothing submitted. |
| 1 | Response suggests the student is not familiar with any of the background content. |
| 2 | Response suggests the student reviewed some of the material but did not fully comprehend or has not thought critically about it. |
| 3 | Response suggests the student has reviewed the background material and came to class prepared to engage in a thoughtful discussion. |
| I will automatically drop every student’s lowest 3 scores for these quizzes. So if you do miss 3 quizzes for any reason (e.g., tardiness, absence), your grade will not be penalized. | |
Additional Expectations
| Classroom Culture | |
| The following three values form the foundation of my classroom culture and expectations: | |
| 1. Authenticity | |
|---|---|
| Speak up if you are confused or struggling. | |
| Be honest with yourself about your needs & capabilities. | |
| Use tools like AI and collaboration with integrity. | |
| Take full personal responsibility for mistakes or missed opportunities. | |
| Attempt to manipulate or mislead your instructors or classmates. | |
| Hide or deny your biases or areas for growth. | |
| Present direct results from AI tools like ChatGPT as your own work. | |
| Deflect blame or redirect responsibilities on your instructor or your classmates. | |
| 2. Curiosity | |
| Use the readings and assignments as a guide. | |
| Ask thoughtful questions of yourself, your instructor, and your colleagues. | |
| Bring your ideas to my attention. | |
| Let the syllabus limit your investigation. | |
| Expect me to fill your brain with facts for you to recall. | |
| Assume I will not be open to changing or expanding your options. | |
| 3. Inclusion | |
| Make space for your colleagues to gain just as much as you. | |
| Maintain awareness and openness to seeing your bias and privilege. | |
| Bring your barriers to my attention so I can help you navigate them. | |
| Dominate discussions. | |
| Assume everyone will share your perspectives or background. | |
| Assume only you are navigating barriers or that barriers are insurmountable with cooperation. | |
Engagement
University Policies
Accommodations
The University of Nebraska at Omaha is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all persons with disabilities. This syllabus is available in alternate formats upon request. Reasonable accommodations are offered to students who are registered with the Accessibility Services Center (ASC), and their requests are made sufficiently in advance.
For more information, contact ASC. Location: 104 H&K
Phone: 402.554.2872
Email: unoaccessibility@unomaha.edu.
Academic Integrity
Plagiarism and cheating of any kind on an examination, quiz, or assignment will result at least in an “F” for that assignment (and may, depending on the severity of the case, lead to an “F” for the entire course) and may be subject to appropriate referral to the Office of Academic and Student Affairs for further action. I will assume that for this course, you will adhere to the University of Nebraska at Omaha policies and maintain the highest academic integrity standards. In other words, don’t cheat by giving answers to others or taking them from anyone else. I will also adhere to the highest standards of academic integrity, so please do not ask me to change (or expect me to change) your grade illegitimately or to bend or break the rules for one person that will not apply to everyone.
Title IX Sexual Misconduct
As your instructor, one of my responsibilities is to help create a safe learning environment on our campus. Title IX and our Sexual Misconduct policy prohibit sexual misconduct. If you have experienced sexual misconduct or know someone who has, the University can help. I encourage you to visit the Title IX website to learn more. If you seek help and want to speak to someone confidentially, you can contact the Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).
It is also crucial that you know that federal regulations and University policy require me to promptly convey any information about potential sexual misconduct known to me to UNO’s Title IX Coordinator. In that event, they will work with a few others on campus to ensure appropriate measures are taken, and resources are available to the student who may have been harmed. Protecting a student’s privacy is of utmost concern, and all involved will only share information with those who need to know to ensure the University can respond and assist.
This office is meant as a space for students to learn from each other, build relationships, and foster an environment of understanding and respect. If you are interested in contributing to or benefiting from their work to make UNO a more inclusive environment or you find yourself in need of support and resources, I recommend you start with a visit to their office. You can find them in rooms 112 and 113 of the Milo Bail Student Center or online.
Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct
Students at the University of Nebraska Omaha are expected to maintain standards of personal integrity per institutional goals for the success of all students. This means students are expected to assume responsibility for their actions, observe national, state, and local laws, follow university policies, and respect the rights and property of all people. For more information, see Student Conduct and Community Standards.
Grading Policies
Grade Appeal
Individuals who believe that their grade in a particular course does not properly reflect their performance or that the instructor acted arbitrarily or capriciously in determining the grade should first contact the instructor to determine the rationale for the grade or if there was an error in reporting. Consultation with the instructor should occur before formal action regarding a grade appeal.
After the instructor has provided the rationale for the grade in question and has indicated that no error in reporting was made, the individual may petition the department/school for reconsideration. In such instances, the student should contact the department chair/school director to obtain information on the procedures to follow in requesting an appeal at the department/school level.
The grade appeal process exists to correct inadvertent errors or misunderstandings about your grade, not to extend the term we’ve been given to work together for this class. Please, do not contact me after the final grade deadline to request an opportunity to revise, resubmit, or update work that has already been properly assigned, assessed, and graded unless you have already worked directly with the Accessibility Services Center and reached out to me at their recommendation. I will not consider any continued work on your progress in this course or attention to your materials without extremely extenuating circumstances. If you regret your performance in the class or opportunities you have missed and would like a second chance, I encourage you to re-enroll the next time I am teaching this course and follow the same standards and policies as your classmates.
Dropping a Course
A class can be dropped from your schedule via MavLINK until the last day to withdraw. The last day to withdraw can be found on the Academic Calendar. You can click the “refund” link next to each class in your schedule if you are enrolled. You can also contact the Office of the University Registrar to verify the last day to withdraw.
Drops can only be completed in your course’s 100% refund period. If you drop the course from your schedule during this period, it will not be listed on your academic transcript. Withdraws can be completed until the last day to withdraw for the semester. If you withdraw from a course, a grade of “W” is given for that course, which will be listed on your academic transcript. “W” grades have no impact on your academic GPA.
The instructor reserves the right to revise or adjust the course syllabus best to accommodate the pace and needs of the students.
Fair Use Policy
Copying or recording synchronous classes and asynchronous course materials without the express prior approval of Dr. Rich is prohibited. All copies and recordings remain the property of UNO and Dr. Rich. UNO and Dr. Rich reserve the right to retrieve, inspect, or destroy them after their intended use. These policies are not intended to affect the rights of students with disabilities under applicable law or UNO policies.